• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Tiny Urban Kitchen
  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About Me
    • Travel
    • Recipes
    • Michelin
    • Subscribe
    • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » World Travel

    Castellana - Piedmont Cuisine in Hong Kong

    Published: Dec 7, 2020 by Jennifer Che

    In 2015 for my milestone birthday Bryan organized an Around the World trip for me. One of the places I had always wanted to visit was the Piedmont region in Northern Italy. Even though I typically don't love my November birthday (the November weather in Boston leaves much to be desired), I knew that white truffle season peaked around November. Therefore, we planned our trip around the White Alba Truffle Festival.

    Along the way, we discovered our love for Piedmont food and also the amazing wine in the region (hello Barolo and Barbaresco!).

    Castellana Hong Kong

    Though we can't travel right now, we got a taste of our Piedmont memories at Castellana, a new Piedmont restaurant that opened in Causeway Bay at the Cubus building.

    Castellana is born out of a collaboration involving 2-Michelin starred chef Marco Sacco from Piccolo Lago in Verbania. Castellana focuses on traditional Piedmont food, but updates certain dishes with a "modern twist". The menu includes signature dishes from Piccolo Lago but also adds other dishes that incorporate local ingredients and seasons. Right now during the fall/winter season there is a huge focus on white Alba truffles, including two different white Alba truffle tasting menus.

    We opted to try the Castellana "Journey Around the World" tasting menu, which comes either as a 4-course of 7-course tasting. Bryan got the traditional tasting while I tried the vegetarian tasting.

     Yogurt smoked salmon and a fried dough crueller

    First Course: Salad

    Castellana Hong Kong
    Castellana Hong Kong

    The first salad course consisted of burrata cheese, Mazara del Vallo Sicilian red prawns. On the vegetarian tasting menu I had a tomato, basil, and mozzarella cheese salad. They were both nice, but the prawn version was much better.

    Second Course: Pasta

    This next dish is their signature dish, Carbonara "Au Koque." A traditional carbonara is made by tossing pasta in a mixture of egg yolks, guanciale, cheese, and a good dose of black pepper (my favorite recipe is here).

    Castellana Hong Kong

    Castellana's signature version is different because it's semi-deconstructed. The guanciale sits on top and the egg yolk "sauce" is poured table-side. They had some black truffles (this was before white alba truffle season), and shaved some on top.

    Bryan loved it.

    I also loved my mushroom "farroto" (like a risotto but made with farro grains), which was the "pasta" on the vegetarian menu. The texture was fantastic, and the flavors were deep and full of mushroom flavor.

    The kitchen also sent out a black garlic risotto for us to try and we both loved it. The deep dark flavors of the black garlic were even more intense than normal garlic, which we already really like. I would definitely order this.

    Main Course

    La Porca Costina, or glazed Iberico pork ribs, was the last course. This came with a small side of broccoli rabe and purple cabbage. Though it was small, ribs were expertly executed and delicious.

    Cheese and Dessert

    Castellana Hong Kong
    Castellana Hong Kong

    Bryan opted for the lovely sampling of classic Piedmont cheeses while I got the refreshingly light homemade yogurt.

    Castellana Hong Kong
    Castellana Hong Kong

    Bryan was excited they had several different kinds of Barolo Chinato, including one he'd never had before.

    General Thoughts - Castellana Hong Kong

    We had a lovely time at Castellana. The ambiance was warm and inviting, the service was excellent, and the food was great. For us, the pastas and the risottos stood out the most, and we'd go back for that alone. We also enjoyed the other courses, and overall thought the execution of everything was very, very good.

    Bryan's words as we were leaving the restaurant, "I'd come back here."

    With the travel restrictions right now, we certainly won't be going back to Italy anytime soon. However, we can still get a little, delicious, slice of Piedmont in a high rise overlooking Causeway Bay.

    I'm actually really thankful about that.

    Castellana Hong Kong
    10/F Cubus, 1 Hoi Ping Road
    Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

    More World Travel

    • Wing Restaurant Hong Kong
      Wing Restaurant by Vicky Cheng
    • Hotel Excelsior San Marco Roof Garden Restaurant Bergamo
      A Weekend in Bergamo Italy - Trip Report
    • Otto e Mezzo Bombana
      Bryan's Birthday at 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana
    • Godenya Hong Kong
      Godenya Hong Kong

    Recent Posts

    • Wing Restaurant by Vicky Cheng May 22, 2023
    • A Weekend in Bergamo Italy - Trip Report May 17, 2023
    • Bryan's Birthday at 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana May 10, 2023
    • Godenya Hong Kong May 8, 2023
    • Chung Kee - Lockhart Cooked Food Centre Wan Chai May 6, 2023
    • Fiata Pizza Hong Kong May 3, 2023
    • 48 Hours in Warsaw Poland - Trip Report May 1, 2023
    • A Month in Boston: our first post-Covid Trip April 28, 2023

    Reader Interactions

    Trackbacks

    1. Happy New Year 2021! A Look Back at 2020 - Tiny Urban Kitchen says:
      January 1, 2021 at 12:09 pm

      […] this time, we were able to explore many new restaurants, such as La Castanella, Ando, Roganic, L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, and the Araki, just to name a […]

      Log in to Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen
    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen

    Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am an expat who moved from Boston to Hong Kong 5 years ago. Born and raised in Ohio to Taiwanese immigrant parents, I am a chemistry nerd, patent attorney by day, blogger by night, church musician on weekends, and food enthusiast always. Feel free to explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!

    More about me →

    Explore

    • Recipe
    • Restaurant
    • US Travel
    • World Travel

    Popular Posts

    • Chung Kee Wan Chai - Lockhart Cooked Food Centre
      Chung Kee - Lockhart Cooked Food Centre Wan Chai
    • Fiata Pizza Hong Kong
      Fiata Pizza Hong Kong
    • Warsaw, Poland
      48 Hours in Warsaw Poland - Trip Report
    • A Month in Boston: our first post-Covid Trip

    Recipes

    • Appetizer
    • Snacks
    • Meat
    • Vegetables
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Seafood
    • Noodles

    Recently Traveled

    • Hong Kong
    • France
    • Belgium
    • Boston
    • California
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • Spain

    Support Us

    Recognition


    Featured on the front page
    of the FOOD Section: 2015

    Best Food Blog Awards:
    Restaurant & Dining 2012

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • My Equipment
    • In the Press
    • Project Food Blog
    • Privacy Policy

    Eating Guides!

    Eating & Travel Guides
    Trip Reports
    "Kawaii" (Cute Foods)
    Around the World

    • Pinterest
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Mail
    • RSS Feed

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Shop at Amazon

    Copyright © 2022 Tiny Urban Kitchen